Whitecaps eager to kick off season after lengthy spring training

COMSTOCK PARK — The sun may have been in the sky, but it didn’t take long for the West Michigan Whitecaps to realize they’re not in Florida anymore.

The team held a brief practice at Fifth Third Ballpark on Tuesday afternoon amid stiff wind and cool temperatures. Outfielder Jeff Rowland even claimed he saw a few snow flurries when he woke up in the morning.

Regardless of the unpredictable Michigan weather, the team is looking forward to finally putting on their Whitecaps uniforms, letting the fans into the park and getting down to the business of playing actual games.

The Whitecaps host Grand Valley State University in an exhibition game at 6 p.m. Wednesday before they kick off the regular season Thursday night at Lansing.

“It’s a little bit colder than Florida, obviously, but I’m definitely excited to start playing here,” first baseman James Robbins said. “I’m really excited to get the season going.”

Third baseman Nick Castellanos, one of the Detroit Tigers’ top prospects, agreed.

“It’s good,” Castellanos said. “Spring training dragged on a little bit towards the end so it’s good to finally be out here and get the season started.”

Catcher Rob Brantly said this year’s team is younger than last year, but it already developed a strong camaraderie in spring training.

One person who didn’t necessarily embrace Tuesday’s cool temperatures was first-year manager Ernie Young — although he is looking forward to sleeping in a little after having regular wakeup calls of 6:30 a.m. during spring training.

He was much more enthusiastic about the makeup of his team.

“It’s going to be a combination of quite a few things,” Young said. “We have solid defense up the middle, we are adequate with speed, we may have a little bit of power here and there, but our pitching staff is probably going to be pretty good. We have some guys that throw in the mid- and upper-90s and that’s going to be a plus for our team.”

Brantly, who played for former manager Joe DePastino last season, said it didn’t take long for Young to make his presence felt.

“With Ernie, you’ve got to be on your game,” Brantly said. “He’ll tell you once and that’s the only time he’s going to tell you. Definitely helps you be a sharper baseball player.”

Roster move

The season hasn’t even started yet, but there already have been two roster moves. Left-handed pitcher Shawn Teufel was transferred to Lakeland, while right-handed pitcher Michael Torrealba was transferred to West Michigan from extended spring training.

Torrealba, 21, split last season as a reliever between Connecticut of the New York-Penn League and Lakeland, and went a combined 1-4 in 41 2/3 innings. He also struck out 44 and walked 11.

Teufel, 24, split last season between three teams: West Michigan, Connecticut and Lakeland. In nine games with the Whitecaps, he was 1-1 with a 2.60 ERA and 14 strikeouts in 17 1/3 innings. At Lakeland, he was 0-0 with a 2.45 ERA in 14 2/3 innings.

Rotation set

The Whitecaps announced the starting rotation they will use to start this season: Kyle Ryan, Kevin Eichhorn, Jeff Ferrell, Antonio Cruz and Josue Carreno.